Videos of Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal Dancing from Djarragun College, Australia

Djarragun College is a school with mainly indigenous students (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander), about 24 kilometres south of Cairns, the main town of Far North Queensland. For ten years, since its beginning in 2001, it had a great reputation. Its students, ranging from Preschool age until post Year 12, were very keen to learn and perform their traditional cultural dances and became a very popular feature of the school.

The first dance groups were formed by students from Murray Island (or Mer) in the eastern Torres Strait Islands, guided by their elders. Senior students' dance groups were soon followed by the younger kids that were, if possible, even more enthusiastic performers. This was followed by dance groups from the other islands, especially the Top Western Islands of Boigu and Saibai.

The Djarragun College Torres Strait Islander dancers performed contemporary social dances, in which the costume for the men nowadays includes a white singlet and “lap-lap”, wraparound cloth, accompanied by drums and harmonious singing. There was traditional chanting as well, accompanying the traditional “Kab Kar” or just drumming as in the fast “Silent Dance”. They performed during festivities in the school, like the Awards ceremonies at the Student's Graduations and the official opening of new additions to the school campus. They were also often asked to perform at venues around Cairns. And to top it, in 2008 they were invited to perform in Abu Dhabi and Dubai by the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates!

Eventually the Djarragun College Aboriginal dancers also established themselves at the school and developed a dance routine depicting various traditional activities and “shake-a-leg dances”, to the tune of didjeridu and clapsticks.